I love your name - must have been a winning ticket number! I have written articles on all your questions - they were excellent questions!! I have fished nights for about 40 years - guiding and fun fishing. Last year and so far this year, everyone wants to fish in daylight - imagine that!! Actually, ...

I was reading this thread about night fishing - and there I was! I haven't had many requests for night fishing lately - not sure why. I just do what the public wants, and they like daylight now I guess. Most of the large bass over 10 lbs that my clients and I have caught are more active at night, es...

My recent reports (below) mentioned 16 yr old twins and dad with a 16 lb Berryessa limit, caught in one hour! Next trip, 6 yr old Allison put the adults to shame as she caught the biggest bass at 3 1/4 lbs - hooked, fought, and landed the bass all by herself! Dad said she is a pretty good angler - w...

Most low elevation lakes have water temps that are nearly the same for incoming creeks and streams - depending on their location. The deciding factor is the source of the incoming water. Lake Oroville is the perfect example. Most know that the south fork warms up quicker in the spring because incomi...

I could write an essay on this subject. Just remembered - I did once! I only have time for this: sudden, cold, muddy water is the kiss of death for a bass bite. They do not do well with muddy water going thru their gill plates. They will move to cleaner water if they can find it. If they can't, they...

This is just some late weather info - Wed, 7 pm. Big storm coming as most of you know. This is a cold one and there is 6 to 18 inches of snow forecast for the 2000 ft elevation. Will this happen? Who knows. Not sure I would take the chance. Ramps at Bullards are steep as are the approaching roads. J...

I have been a guide long enough to learn the patterns of clients. Spring is the time everyone wants to get on the water - especially after this present weather pattern! Fishing is good and the chance for a trophy bass is best in the spring. It is a good idea when trying to book a trip to have more t...

I just hope he was enough of a serious fisherman to realize the gravity of what he did. Rare catch in northern California these days. He must have used some good fishing skills to land her on 4 lb test. I wonder if there is a record that can be broken (4 lb test) in California if the bass was offici...

Clear Lake is a harder lake to pattern for the spawn. It is a bit higher elevation at near 1400 feet and often experiences many different weather patterns from March thru the end of May. It has a major coastal weather influence. The bass are often found in the shallows during a warm spell in late Ma...

Hi George! In my opinion, there is a big difference between the 5 and 6 inch Senko. The 6 inch is a thicker bait and needs a bigger, wider gap hook. Hold the 2 sizes in your hands - feel the difference! The 6 inch is a lot of material to plug up the smaller gap of a 2/0 hook. That hook is ok for a 5...

Yes, Stan is an excellent read! I knew him pretty well, even visiting him in his home in Washington state. He was really able to break down some of the major shallow water techniques. I don't think he did a lot of deep water bass fishing. Wonderful, fun gentleman!!!

After the accident I had recently, I have a nearly new Ranger 521 rig that came with the Evinrude 250. When the previous owner said that his boat was powered with the Evinrude, I almost jumped for joy! My 3rd one now and it is wonderful! With all the old arguments about Evinrude, Mercury, or Ford, C...

After my recent accident, totaling my Ranger 521, I was able to buy another nearly new 521 from a private party. I did need several thing checked out and changed for my use - new Minn Kota 112, etc. Jeremy again has been most helpful in helping me make the proper upgrades and giving the Evinrude 250...

I just wanted to thank you for the calls and emails about my accident. I was towing to C&C Marine, Sacramento, for yearly updates a few weeks ago when my trailer had a major problem which led to my boat and truck separating and being totaled. Thankfully, the only un-totaled item was me! God is a...

All those lines so close together on your meter - is that a good thing? - LOL!!! I have been able to fish several lakes near Spokane and have boated on Coeur twice but have never fished it. The smallie you are holding is just beautiful - perfect example of the great fishery you have!!

When I first moved to Yuba City in the late 70's, I heard about the Yuba Goldfields ponds, east of Marysville. I fished them for several years as I had never been around ponds - living in big cities like San Jose. You had to pay to fish them and you could buy a yearly pass. There was lots of ponds -...

I don't know much about Washington bass, but that is a healthy bass. Seems to be feeding well. I remember about 20+ years ago a friend moved to Washington state. He called me a few months later and said the bass fishing was excellent and nobody fishes for them, just salmon and trout! I'm sure that i...

I just found out that Cooch passed away. I was catching up on the forum tonight after posting a report. I didn't know Cooch as well as most of you did since I don't fish the delta much. I did fish one of his youth tournaments several years ago. As I was leaving in the morning with my young people an...

Gary's first sentence pretty much nailed it. To go a bit further, the incoming air mass during an approaching storm is often a warm front. Most storms are followed by a cold front, featuring cloudless skies with bright sun, or at night, a bright moon (during full moon periods). An incoming daytime s...

When I moved to Yuba City many years ago, I fell in love with the Yuba Goldfields ponds. I fished them for years before becoming a licensed guide - busy on the big lakes. It is true that most pond bass become stunted because of over-population - folks not allowed to keep any bass. However, more ofte...

I can comment on the lake. I have fished it off and on for about 20 years and guide on the lake when someone wants to try a different lake. It was a smallmouth - largemouth lake until recently when spotted bass have found their way into the lake, as they always seem to do. A 7 lb 3 oz smallmouth was...

I did see several sizes of dead shad yesterday. Some I could barely see (tiny) to 3 inches. I was surprised to see some bigger dead bass. I have noticed this summer that we have caught a lot more shallow bass in spite of all the hot weather. That might be the reason we lost so many bass during this ...

I am not a delta expert, but do know jigs. All of the previous posts are excellent! Don't forget that a jig trailer is part of the total package. Try different sizes and actions. In very dingy water, you want a trailer that moves water and offers bulk to the package. Some trailers look good in clear...

I also am very grateful to Bob for treating my clients well! If I was guiding out of the Oaks, I would suggest clients stop at his shop after the trip, maybe picking up some of the successful baits we used. Bob always was very helpful to them!

Many, many years ago a friend of mine moved to Washington state. He called me about 6 month later and was gushing about how good the bass fishing was. We didn't discuss size, but he was one happy dude!!

I have friends who live near Coeur d'Alene (Post Falls). I have never fished the lake but have been all over it by boat. It seems to me it would take years to properly learn that huge lake. One would have to learn the weather patterns for a lake that big too. Big wind could be a problem. I have been...

In a typical lake with a typical summer, the water is usually fairly clear except on a Monday after weekend boating activity. If you can fish on a cloudy day, the rewards can be amazing. One of my home lakes is Oroville, in Northern Calif. This has happened more than once, but we had a totally cloud...

I have fished and guided on the lake for 30+ years. A friend and I took 3rd place in a large spring tournament there this year. I always like to talk to people rather than post info about a lake, mainly because I need to know the specific questions. I could talk for hours about Almanor fishing - day...

I don't know all the details (does anyone?), but all the original resorts were given a 50 year lease from the fed govt after the lake was filled in 1958. When those leases were over around 2010, all but 2 of the resorts were shut down and torn down. I watched some of the destruction from my boat as ...

It seems that identifying separate species of certain bass would be difficult these days. There is too much inter-breeding. The only pure Florida strain largemouth I know of are found at Rancho Seco lake. Smallies and spots inter-breed at several lakes - clients and I have caught many at Lake Orovil...

Ash gave you an excellent response. When bass fishing got started in the south during the 60's, guys were using their pool cues with guides attached - 5 1/2 ft rods! They had a lot of power, but try setting the hook with one of those in wind with a big bow in your line - or setting if your bite is 5...

Smallmouth bass will move to off-shore structure in July and August as the water warms and starts dropping. There is a lot of off-shore structure like rockpiles, underwater islands, and stumps. If you are going to fish the shoreline, look for the steeper rocky areas. You won't find many quality bass...

I have fished Shasta several time in Sept and the bite usually picks up in late Sept and gets better into October. You will get better quality bass in October. Sept is a transition month - sometimes very warm weather and some years early fronts move in and cool the water more quickly. I agree with G...

There have been bass to 7 lbs caught in the keys. I have heard that officials at Tahoe were trying to rid the keys of "warmwater" species. I'm not sure of the current conditions - maybe someone else knows.

You bring back memories!! I learned to bass fish on all the Santa Clara valley lakes in the early "70's before moving to Yuba City. I almost didn't want to move when my 5 biggest bass from Coyote and Lexington in 1974 weighed 33 1/2 lbs! Actually, I fished Chesbro mostly - from the bank and hoo...

I guess I should add some history to Gary's remarkable career. I, too, was with the Twin T's company before Gary bought it. They sponsored me - my 3rd sponsor! Very exciting!! Then Gary bought the company and was immediately busy keeping up the demand for his baits from southern California anglers. ...

I just posted a report. Remember, Clear Lake bass fishing has been greatly influenced by constantly changing weather patterns for the last 5 months and rising and falling water levels along with the rising and falling of water temps. There really hasn't been a steady nice weather pattern all spring ...

Senkos - either weightless or with a piece of nailweight, fished down the sides of bushes and trees work well in the post-spawn since they are a slow moving bait. Any color works as long as it is #301. Watch your line!!! Also, 6" Robo worms start being attractive to nice spots. I just Texas rig...

Fishing buddy Mike Sperbeck asked me if I wanted to fish a tournament at Lake Alamanor. I hadn't fished a tournament for many years since I enjoy guiding and teaching more. But any chance to fish this beautiful lake is a go for me. The tournament was an open tourney run by the Mountain Bass Associat...